As a rule, license plates of sheet metal bearing the identification in the form of embossed numerals and/or letters have been used up to the present to identify a motor vehicle. Such license plates can be attached to passenger vehicles, motorcycles, trucks and other road vehicles.
The size and arrangement of the plates on the respective motor vehicle are prescribed. The type of numerals and letters, the coloring of these markings and of the background are likewise established according to national laws and regulations. It is also required by law that motor vehicles carry additional identifying markings for the nationality of the licensing country.
A motor vehicle registration certificate and licensing voucher are also necessary for further identification of motor vehicles. While license plates only carry numbers and/or letters which together enable a quick identification of the owner, they also lead to other data concerning the motor vehicle which are stored in the relevant police station, licensing bureau or central facility, e.g. in Flensburg in the former Federal Republic of Germany.
Such comprehensive registration of motor vehicles is handled in more or less the same way in all countries.
There is no doubt that this registration of motor vehicles is costly and troublesome. The sheet-metal license plates must be manufactured, which also includes the incorporation of numbers and letters, painting and often also coating with a reflective film. Since the plates are coated chemically in particular, environmentally harmful waste water is generated in the manufacturing plants. Another disadvantage of present means of identification is that they can be produced and changed relatively easily by unauthorized persons.
Considerable expense is required for additional registration of the essential data of the motor vehicle owner and of the motor vehicle itself. The motor vehicle registration certificates and licensing vouchers must also be produced and provided with all the necessary data. As a recent development, this data must also be stored in computers. This involves careful coordination of the production of the license plate and entry of data in the motor vehicle licensing voucher and registration certificate. In addition, the possibility must be kept open for registering a change of ownership or suspension of the motor vehicle.